Why GTA4 blows OoT our of the water.

[Gnizmo]

Kasz216 said:

 

I disagree.  "Fun" is nothing but short term happiness.  Afterall you can't really have fun if you aren't happy. 

Even in your depressed or upset about something when you have fun you forget your problems and therefore for a short period of time are happy.

 

Short term is the key there. Most studies that have been done go for long term fun, and not short term. The few studies done on the effects of wealth on short term happiness suggest that money can make you happier. When someone wins the lottery, as an example, their happiness shoots through the roof for a few months before settling back down. Happiness is very quirky like that. It is a side effect of being a self-report only measure like pain.

And while all fun causes happiness, not all happiness is caused by fun. The two are fairly well correlated, but it is far from perfect. You certainly can't use a study showing happiness trends to prove anything related to fun without a lot of extra work.